Upon initially listening to Jaron’s debut, Getting Dressed In The Dark, I couldn’t believe that this was the same person. Of course, further research confirmed this. His voice has the natural country twang to it that booms on the third track, “Beat Back Love.” Getting Dressed In The Dark is a storytelling concept album revolving around one thing: relationships. Jaron pours his heart into the lyrics that can give Taylor Swift a run for her money on the relationship topic. The album hits on both sides of a relationship. Whether it is that yearning to start all over again (“Petals Back On The Rose”), or the vindictive side (“I Hope You Hit Traffic” and the album’s lead single, “Pray For You”), this album is destined to give the listener something that they can relate to.

One downfall of the album comes at the beginning of  the album’s fourth track, “Without Her Leaving.” I could not help but compare the beginning notes of the song to Travis Tritt’s “Tell Me I Was Dreaming.” Another downfall would have to be “Without A Woman I Love” and “Kill Me For Loving You.” Both of these songs seem too drawn out and have more of the filler track feel than the rest of the album. I found myself skipping these tracks with every listen. Jaron does redeem himself with the conclusion of the album, “That’s Beautiful To Me.” It is basically Jaron’s take on the classic “you are beautiful no matter what you do” song concept and ends the album on a high note. I do have to say that this album is a must have for any country pop fan to enjoy.

Getting Dressed In The Dark is available now on Jaronwood/Universal/Big Machine Records.

The past few years have been riddled with songs about the “good old days” and how great things used to be.  I was disappointed to see another song of this material coming out, but figured I would give it a chance to stand out or be unique from the rest.  I found my hope to be fruitless.

Lyrically, the song is lacking in enough creative description to really take me back and share the image of the old Georgia clay.  The spiel is worn out and the song’s only saving grace is the line, “seventeen years old, running on dumb luck”; a line strong in itself, but surrounded by the wet paper bag equivalent of song lyrics.

I do like the sound of Josh’s voice and I will be checking out more of his music because I know his family possesses musical talent. But, I was extremely disappointed with my first impression.  I do hope that if Josh sings about Georgia again, he brings lyrics that are less clay and more bulldog.

Author's Rating

Well, we have FOUR copies of the limited edition “sleeve” version of Everything Comes and Goes to give away. Want to enter? Details below.

Who is eligible
Anyone with a valid email address (that is how we will contact the winners). Keep in mind you have to give us your postal address if you win.

How to Enter
You can earn up to 3 entries.

• 1 entry for just commenting on THIS post telling us why you need this album.
• 1 entry for tweeting the following:
  

  @frequencymag is giving away 4 copies of @michellebranch ‘s Everything Comes and Goes EP. Enter here: http://frequencymagazine.net/?p=2301

  You MUST copy and paste it as it is and THEN you must comment here linking us to your tweet. No comment here, no entry.

• 1 entry for posting a blog about the contest. You MUST mention the name of the magazine (Frequency Magazine) and you MUST link to the giveaway using this and only this url: http://frequencymagazine.net/?p=2301 Just like the tweet, you MUST comment here linking us to your blog which has the post about the contest.

If you have questions, please do not comment on this post but use the contact form instead. Thank you.

Contest Closes August 29, 2010 at midnight central time.

Again, we have FOUR copies so there will be FOUR winners.

Winners will be notified via email on Monday, August 30, 2010 and will have until Thursday, September 2, 2010 to respond with a valid postal address so the packages can be mailed out.

That being said, I am really enjoying his new single with Rihanna. It’s about having a relationship with someone who you love, but really probably shouldn’t be with.  “I apologize, even though I know it’s lies.” Seriously, who hasn’t had that moment in a relationship where you are just tired of fighting so you’ll say whatever the other person wants to hear?  Even from a woman’s perspective, the chorus reminds me of a lot of exes I’ve had.  Of course none of them wanted to “tie me to a bed and watch me burn” (or at least they never told me out loud). But sometimes it feels like they just want to “stand there and watch you cry.”

Rihanna adds a softer side to the song, her words slide into one another, conveying the pain. The beat is, as usual, catchy. Eminem knows how to catch you with the music and keep you with his words.

Whether you agree with them or not.

Its getting very heavy rotation on pop radio stations. I haven’t heard the whole album, but if its anything like this song then I can’t wait until the next single is released.

Author's Rating

The foursome consists of the lead singer Adam Jensen, Alex Knusten on guitar, Takuma Anzai on drums and Nick DiSpagna on bass.  The band’s fan-base on the east coast is a little startling, but the foursome gained their fandom of touring night after night and a little thing called “Acoustic Tuesdays” on its YouTube page, where (I bet you can guess it) every Tuesday the band uploads an acoustic cover of well-known songs.  I saved you all the trouble, check out the YouTube page here.

Mission Hill’s alternative rock style may sound like others out there, but the thing that makes the band better than the rest (aside from the lyrics and catchy hooks) is lead singer Adam Jensen’s voice.  With an LA award win “Indie-Male Vocalist of the Year,” Boston radio stations can attest to Jensen’s greatest instrument; they are playing the latest single, “Save Me From Me,” regularly.

If the songs don’t convince you to give Mission Hill a chance, then the live performances will.  They’re inspiring; much more than just standing behind a microphone. They’re energetic and sincere, clearly wanting to impress whoever came out to see the band.

Along with opening for Bon Jovi, Mission Hill have shared the stage with musicians including The Script, Tyrone Wells, Boys Like Girls and The White Tie Affair and Boston’s KISS108 KISS concert.  The foursome has been featured on the Myspace Top Artist Charts and featured as the number on artist on Alternative Addiction’s “Top Ten Unsigned Bands in the Country,” before being signed to Toucan Cove, an indie label that also is the home of Saving Jane.

When the album drops, don’t be surprised if you hear more from these guys.

I give Jennifer Nettles a lot of credit for not allowing herself to fall into the over exhausted practice of auto tune. She is one of the few singers that I respect as being a great singer that exudes overwhelming emotion in her voice. From the first line in “Stuck Like Glue,” you can hear the giddiness as she proclaims her love for a significant other. Nettles and Kristian Bush’s voices are a perfect fit as the chorus progresses. Their harmonizing just blows me away since natural harmonizing is a rare find these days.

The only downfall in the song is around the 2:24 mark where Nettles attempts to bring a reggae-type bridge to the song. It is 39 seconds of pure confusion and brings the song down. While Sugarland is known to add different spices to their music, this incident actually takes away the simplicity of the song that is working so well before the bridge.

Other than the bridge catastrophe, “Stuck Like Glue” is one of those songs to which you can turn the volume up and sing along. I guarantee that by the second listen you will be singing the chorus by heart. This song will no doubt be a big hit for Sugarland and has me anticipating on what the new album is going to sound like. Hopefully, no more reggae bridges though.

“Stuck Like Glue” is featured on Sugarland’s upcoming release The Incredible Machine due out October 19th.

Author's Rating

Lyrics are typically my favorite part of a song because of the passion and emotion (not to mention the creativity) that can be expressed with them.  I had forgotten, however, just how many emotions can be expressed with music alone.  I felt a few emotions while listening to the album; from calmness to anger, from adrenaline to subdued; I was gladly surprised at my response to this album.  I cannot believe it had slipped my mind that music by itself can uncover a memory I had so neatly tucked away for many, many years.

The few songs that do feature vocals I actually found to be distracting from the guitar theme of the album. Don’t get me wrong, Vince Gill is one of my favorite artists of all time, but even his vocals seemed slightly out of place.

Honestly this album cannot be described through words all that well since it is lacking in words itself.  For someone who enjoys instrumentals this album may very well be a good find. For those, like myself, who prefer lyrics, I encourage you to give it a chance to see what emotions have been hiding deep in your soul.

Author's Rating

The album opens with “Rain Down,” a mid-tempo country/pop song that showcases Autumn’s soulful pipes.  Her voice is the only believable aspect of the song with the lyrics and melody being slightly generic; however, because of the emotional connection she sings with, it’s easy to believe her words.

The standout track on the album is undoubtedly “We Made the Spirits Move.”  This piano-driven ballad has Autumn crooning, “We showed the stars just what to do, and we made the spirits move.”

Another great track on the album is the title track, “Velvet Sky.”  Autumn knows her strength, and that’s her ability to emit real emotion through the words she sings, and this time it’s no different, carrying the tune with the support of an acoustic guitar.

Autumn’s cover of Patty Griffin’s “Nobody’s Cryin’” is haunting as well.  The simple guitar mixed with the caliber of emotion that the song commands was a great choice for her.

The album closes with “Lesson Never Learned,” a well rounded closer with an appearance by musician Sam Baker.  The song is gritty and ends the album on a high note.

The one major flaw that this album has is that it’s nothing special.  If you turn on the radio or head down to your local open mic night, you’ll hear songs exactly like these.  While there are some great tracks on the album, it’s not enough to overshadow the other mediocre compositions.

Author's Rating

The Eminem and Rihanna duet, “Love the Way You Lie,” has been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 R&B song, and Hottest Digital song for the past 2 weeks.  And no wonder- he raps about love, anger, lies, and eventually burning the one he loves alive rather than watch her leave him as Rihanna sings “I like the way it hurts.”  No more imitations of Eminem dragging Kim into the woods to murder her amidst screaming fits of rage-instead, the calm, premeditated vibe of “Love the Way You Lie” enters a chilling new depth of domestic violence.  Duets with Lil’ Wayne, Pink, and Kobe also appear on the album, and Em teams up with Slaughterhouse on “Session One,” which is one of two bonus tracks made available to those who purchase Recovery on iTunes.

Recovery offers us a more mature view of Eminem.  He speaks from the heart in the beginning of “Not Afraid,” saying “I guess I had to go to that place to get to this one. Now some of you might still be in that place tryin’ to get out.  Follow me-I’ll get you there.”  These are truly beautiful lyrics.  Overall, Recovery feels like Em’s got the wind knocked out of him right now, painting a beautiful picture of his loss, love, and most importantly, his determination to get back up again.  In “Not Afraid,” the first single off Recovery to make Top 10 singles in Germany and Canada this week, Eminem reconnects with his fans by crediting them for inspiring him to get clean, focus on raising his daughter, and turn his attention to a different addiction: spitting chart-topping rhymes.  Perhaps Eminem’s most sincere album yet, even the dedication of Recovery is touching: “This album is dedicated 2 anyone who’s in a dark place tryin’ to get out.  Keep your head up…it does get better.”  Mathers might have metaphorically served up divorce papers to the rap game in “25 to Life,” but on the contrary, this may be the beginning of a whole new decade of Eminem.

Author's Rating

Originally the title of her long-past-due solo country debut, Everything Comes and Goes is an impressive, albeit unfortunate and all-too-short, result of label management mix-ups in an all-too-auto-tuned music industry.

From the start, Branch brings a fight. “Ready to Let You Go” is a slick, rebel nod to her newly-planted Nashville roots. “You better think about it/and turn around and leave,” Branch sings, her vocals at times too sweet to match the song’s grinding guitars and acid-tongued tone. The catchy, country-twinged “Sooner or Later,” released last summer to mild success, plays the breezy and slightly-less-biting twin to Hotel Paper’s “Are You Happy Now?”.

“I Want Tears” remains the EP’s clear gem — and rightly so. A longtime YouTube-circulating fan favorite, the track has its twang, but lets Branch breathe. “Crazy Ride” shares that bare-bones success: Gone is the wide-eyed, “All You Wanted” Branch; in her place, a forewarning, lullaby-singing, and tattoo-toting mama. She sings, half-hoping, “Keep the starlight in your eyes.” It’s an honest effort by Branch — and a thinly veiled allusion to her record label troubles in a song that should be, in and of itself, strong enough to fix them.

Nostalgia reigns on the yearning “Summertime” and days-gone-by title track, “Everything Comes and Goes.” “Time is going by so fast/and I can’t do anything about it,” she laments. It’s a raw, girl-and-her-guitar end to the set — and that’s Branch at her best — no matter the circumstance.

Everything Comes and Goes is available now at www.michellebranch.com.